CARAT BRANDED-ENTERTAINMENT UNIT SIGNS FIRST DEAL

NEW YORK -- Carat Entertainment, created in February to craft branded entertainment programming for Aegis Group’s media buying and planning unit Carat, is poised to announce its first deal, according to executives familiar with the matter.

Quattro's new vibrating razor will be featured within the content of the new 'King of Vegas' reality gambling show.

Schick Quattro, one of multiple razor brands manufactured by Schick, has signed up as a sponsor of King of Vegas, a new show on Viacom’s Spike TV cable channel.

'Ironman' of gambling

Positioned as the so-called Ironman of gambling at this year’s upfront, the show features competitions in 10 different casino games, from keno and slots to blackjack, filmed at a Las Vegas casino.

One aspect of Carat Entertainment’s deal, according to a knowledgeable executive, is that Schick Quattro will sponsor a segment titled the "Best Poker Face of the Night," in which the features and mannerisms that make it most difficult for viewers and competitors to determine a player's hand are dissected and discussed.

Schick’s new four-blade Quattro Power vibrating razor will be showcased on the show.

The company’s four-bladed Quattro is Schick's top-selling men's razor but ranks a distant No. 2 to Gillette's Mach 3. The Quattro Power launch this month comes as Gillette is preparing to launch early next year its five-bladed Fusion, the company's biggest rollout and first new men's system since Mach 3 Power launched in 2003.

Schick, owned by Energizer Holdings, in 2004 spent $32 million in measured media, according to TNS Media Intelligence, to advertise Quattro. Details on the cost of this Spike TV deal were not available at press time.

TV industry veteran Michael Yudin

Media agency and TV industry veteran Michael Yudin, named as Carat Entertainment's director earlier this year and one of the deal's masterminds, has worked with Spike TV in the past. Through his independent production company, MY Entertainment, Mr. Yudin produced AutoRox, an automobile awards show that aired in January.

Spike TV is no newcomer to airing brand-backed programming.

This summer, the network launched Super Agent, a reality show that featured Reebok, General Motors Corp.’s Pontiac division, Boost Mobile and Interbrew’s Bass Ale. It’s also aired The Club, from Reveille and Omnicom Group’s Full Circle Entertainment, which featured prominent Heineken and Allied Domecq placements. The channel also embeds brands into its vignettes and interstitials. Executives said they intend to be more aggressive in that area going forward, in both reality and scripted shows.

Neither Mr. Yudin nor Schick returned calls for comment about this deal at press time. Spike TV also declined to comment on the deal.